String spacing, adapt or abandon

[Twincam]

[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1472139848' post='3118839']



[/quote]

Edited to say Hofner and not higher although in a way I've "picked up a higher" and not been able to play at all haha

[Guest MoJo]

[Lozz196]

Unless those low notes are needed, stick with the comfy Jazz.

[JTUK]

[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1472080728' post='3118431']
I recently got an Ibanez SR305 in a trade. For the price point, it's an excellent instrument. Well put together with a nice array of tones. My only gripe is the string spacing at the bridge, just 16.5mm. After years of play four string basses spaced at 18-20mm, the Ibby feels alien to me. In every other way, it's great. Even my band mates like it, but as soon as I put on my Jazz bass, it's like taking off a pair of new shoes and putting on a pair of comfy slippers.
I'm almost certain that if I were to play it exclusively, eventually the muscle memory would kick in, but that would mean leaving my four stringers in their bags and weeks/months of discomfort and hard work.
I'd be interested to know what other BC'ers would do. Would you spend time, exclusively playing the SR or would you put it up for grabs in the 'For Sale' section and stick with what you feel comfortable with.
[/quote]

I made the conversion and now muscle memory is complete. The way I play and for what I do, I need everything to be in its place.
19mm is the string space for me and all my basses have it.
I wouldn't compromise anything trying to adapt over again.

[samhay]

Do you slap much?
Fingerstyle guitarists get by with sting spacing that is much less than 19 mm - perhaps half this in some cases. Slapping on a 6 string is not great, but everything else seems to work ok for most people.
It will take a little muscle memory, which takes a little while to develop, but if everything else about the bass is to your liking then why not invest a little time. If you really can't stand it down the road, you can still sell it.

[Guest MoJo]

[quote name='samhay' timestamp='1472155361' post='3119013']
Do you slap much?
Fingerstyle guitarists get by with sting spacing that is much less than 19 mm - perhaps half this in some cases. Slapping on a 6 string is not great, but everything else seems to work ok for most people.
It will take a little muscle memory, which takes a little while to develop, but if everything else about the bass is to your liking then why not invest a little time. If you really can't stand it down the road, you can still sell it.
[/quote]

I don't slap at all and hardly ever use a pick. It had crossed my mind, when mulling over this conundrum, that guitarists have a much tighter string spacing, but you never hear one say, "The strings are too close together on this Les Paul". I was hoping that, if I could adapt, I could progress to a higher spec Ibanez at a later date, something like an SR505 or SR755

[samhay]

>...but you never hear one say, "The strings are too close together on this Les Paul".
You do on other forums, particularly among the acoustic guitar set.

I flit between guitar and bass and I recall struggling when I first started playing a telecaster as the string spacing is very narrow at about 10.5 mm. Now as long as I play an instrument fairly regularly, it usually only takes a moment to reboot when I switch between familiar instruments.

[Woodinblack]

There are a lot of much wider 5 string basses, and maybe you need to go for one of those. The Ibanez BTBs sound very much like the SRs but have got a [s]hideously wide[/s] more appropriate neck for you. As someone with the exact opposite problem, I don't think it is something you can easily adjust to - I can't really get on with a P bass - the jazz is about as wide a spacing as I can go.

I would also say this isn't specifically a 5 string issue, a 4 string ibanez sr has the same perfect string spacing too

Edited August 25, 2016 by Woodinblack

[blue]

[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1472080728' post='3118431']
I recently got an Ibanez SR305 in a trade. For the price point, it's an excellent instrument. Well put together with a nice array of tones. My only gripe is the string spacing at the bridge, just 16.5mm. After years of play four string basses spaced at 18-20mm, the Ibby feels alien to me. In every other way, it's great. Even my band mates like it, but as soon as I put on my Jazz bass, it's like taking off a pair of new shoes and putting on a pair of comfy slippers.
I'm almost certain that if I were to play it exclusively, eventually the muscle memory would kick in, but that would mean leaving my four stringers in their bags and weeks/months of discomfort and hard work.
I'd be interested to know what other BC'ers would do. Would you spend time, exclusively playing the SR or would you put it up for grabs in the 'For Sale' section and stick with what you feel comfortable with.
[/quote]

If the buy was impulsive and you made a mistake, I'd take the loss and sell.

Blue

[Guest MoJo]

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1472165468' post='3119133']
I would also say this isn't specifically a 5 string issue, a 4 string ibanez sr has the same perfect string spacing too
[/quote]

Have they? I didn't know that

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1472193825' post='3119227']
Have they? I didn't know that
[/quote]

Like this:
[IMG]http://www.alienrat.co.uk/photobucket/2e3521e5-33a5-41dd-9f98-4573cd4daa09_zpsterl4veg.jpg[/IMG]

Edited July 3, 2017 by Woodinblack

[Guest MoJo]

Spent a couple of hours with the 305 today and it's starting to come together

[skej21]

I think string spacing is like many other things. If you have the ability to adapt and pick up the change quickly it'll not be a problem. I used to think I had issues with tighter spacing or P bass width necks but after a week of working in Music retail and regularly switching between a strat, a Martin acoustic, an upright, a ukulele, a Precision, an Ibanez etc you develop a level of adaptability. Now, I can see why these issues seem huge to people but seem trivial to me when I read about them, as it doesn't really affect me personally anymore. However, I can also see that whilst it appears to be a pretty big issue for some, I don't believe it's something that you can't get past by putting in a little bit of time :-)

Edited August 28, 2016 by skej21

[Guest MoJo]

As an update, I'm glad that I decided to stick with it. I've been practising solely on the five string and played it on a two hour gig yesterday and it's all becoming very familiar. So much so that I'm already starting to think about upgrading to higher spec Ibanez or modding this one, but that's a different thread

[steve-bbb]

and the obvious third option is....

[jazzyvee]

I had the same experience when I bought a new 5 string bass some years back and only when it arrived I realised the string spacing was tighter than all my other basses which have the same spacing. However I have not found it a problem unless I'm doing the double thumbing technique. I interchange between the two string spacings with no problem. That said I do use the narrow necked bass primarily for reggae so my fingers seem to understand that when I pick that bass up.

Edited August 29, 2016 by jazzyvee

[Guest MoJo]

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1472493659' post='3121570']
and the obvious third option is....
[/quote]

Not sure. Just play it?

Edited August 30, 2016 by MoJo

[mcnach]

[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1472080728' post='3118431']
I recently got an Ibanez SR305 in a trade. For the price point, it's an excellent instrument. Well put together with a nice array of tones. My only gripe is the string spacing at the bridge, just 16.5mm. After years of play four string basses spaced at 18-20mm, the Ibby feels alien to me. In every other way, it's great. Even my band mates like it, but as soon as I put on my Jazz bass, it's like taking off a pair of new shoes and putting on a pair of comfy slippers.
I'm almost certain that if I were to play it exclusively, eventually the muscle memory would kick in, but that would mean leaving my four stringers in their bags and weeks/months of discomfort and hard work.
I'd be interested to know what other BC'ers would do. Would you spend time, exclusively playing the SR or would you put it up for grabs in the 'For Sale' section and stick with what you feel comfortable with.
[/quote]


I was the same... until I tried a few 5-string basses with 19mm string spacing. As long as the neck is reasonably shallow I find them very comfy. The Lakland 5502 was the best I've tried and playing it was very very easy (for me) compared to most other 5-string basses, so I only needed to worry about remembering the thickest string being a B and not an E

So... I'd sell and get something with wide spacing... but try as many basses as you can, as neck profiles vary a lot, it's not just the spacing.

The Lakland was the best by far, for me. But the Squier Jazz V DeLuxe, despite it's chunkier profile, was not bad at all and well worth checking out too. A lot cheaper too, if that matters.

[mcnach]

[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1472500372' post='3121650']
Not sure. Just play it?
[/quote]

no, the obvious third choice, and the reason I did not vote in your poll as that choice was not included, is "selling the Ibanez and getting a 5 string with a spacing that you find familiar already".

That would be my choice, and if I need a 5 string (I decided I don't), I'd get another Lakland 5502... as it made the switch between 4 and 5 string much easier. I'm not against putting effort on things, but I am against putting more effort than you need. Dealing with different string spacings etc is all perfectly doable, but why put up with that if I don't have to?

Edited August 30, 2016 by mcnach

[tauzero]

I wanted to play 5-strings for a while but wasn't able to find one that had anything like as comfy a neck as the 4-string I was playing. Then one came along, and after a while I switched to exclusively 5-string. The 4-string was a Warwick Thumb with wide string spacing, the 5-string was an Antoniotsai with quite a bit narrower spacing. I didn't find the string spacing an issue, it was my left hand that had been unhappy.